


A New Love Blooms In Old Age

by littlespacecadet



Series: The Tales of Ricky and Thomas [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fluff, I forgot one of my character's last names twice, I'm trying to keep writing, M/M, Pure Unadulterated Fluff, Teasing, This takes place in like the late 1800s, a squirrel is dead but you don't see it, at least i don't think the story is particularly wild, because i'm a slut for old timey things, because ricky's a lil shit, i think i'm bleeding, it is 5am, the tags not the story, there is no homophobia because i say so, this is just a wild ride tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 20:14:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15870933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlespacecadet/pseuds/littlespacecadet
Summary: Ricky's squirrel friend dies and Thomas does not dress for the occasion.Shenanigans//my mom bought me this writing notebook and this was the first thing i wrote in it and i like it





	A New Love Blooms In Old Age

Thomas leaned against his shovel, wiping the sweat from his brow as Ricky filled in the rest of the hole. Fanning himself with his cap, Thomas glanced around the plantation. An oak tree older than his great-grandmother provided them with much-needed shade and protection from the sweltering heat.   
  
“Maybe you wouldn’t be so hot if you dressed for the weather,” Ricky smiled wryly, brushing the dust off his pants.   
  
Thomas was an overly extravagant person. This was practically a fact of life. However, dressing like a Dapper Dan in the middle of a Florida summer wasn’t the best idea.   
  
“Oh, hush. Why am I helping you if all you’re gonna do is make fun of me?” Thomas huffed.   
  
“Because,” Ricky replied oh so matter-of-factly, “you loved her too.”   
  
“She was a  _ squirrel _ , Richard.”   
  
“A squirrel that outlived my grandmother.”   
  
“I get it. She’s ancient.” Thomas hummed, “I will miss her, though.”   
  
A squirrel chittered somewhere in the branches above, dropping an assortment of leaves, nuts, and berries.   
  
Ricky snickered as a few fell on Thomas’s head. “Do animals have a sense of irony?”   
  
“God, I hope not.” Thomas brushed a few leaves from his hair.   
  
Ricky stepped closer. “You have a little something here,” he muttered, pulling a nut out of Thomas’s hair. He held the small, round seed in his fingers. “There you go.”   
  
Ricky glanced up from the seed to Thomas’s face, his wide-eyed stare and accompanying blush alerting Ricky to their very  _ close  _ proximity.  

 

“Something the matter, Thomas?” Ricky feigned ignorance, sliding forward until they were nearly flush against each other.    
  
Thomas’s flush deepened. He coughed, “No- uh nope. Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Why? Why would you ask?”   
  
“You’re as red as a tomato, Tommy,” Ricky grinned. “I think the heat’s getting to you.”   
  
Thomas’s eyes flickered downward before meeting Ricky’s again. “Really?” he asked, voice sounding huskier than usual, “You think? I feel fine! I feel great! Very great! Absolutely fine!”   
  
Ricky’s grinned widened. He nodded. “I agree. You’re definitely fine.”   
  
Thomas blinked in confusion, but before he could say anything, Ricky continued.   
  
“So very fine,” Ricky sighed wistfully as he let his hands drift down Thomas’s sides. His fingers ghosted over the buttons of his white button-down dress shirt before stopping at the edge of his silk dress pants. Ricky threw a rakish look his way and Thomas had to suppress a shiver. “Your move, Grant.”   
  
Thomas inhaled deeply, unaware that he’d ever stopped breathing. He placed his hands on Ricky’s hips, squeezing lightly, and quickly closed the distance. Tommy took pleasure in the surprised noise that escaped Ricky’s, now occupied, lips. It wasn’t everyday Thomas could get the jump on Ricky Willows.    
  
Ricky let his hands wander back up to Thomas’s ribs as he sank further into the kiss. After a while, Ricky, reluctantly, pulled away from the kiss (because oxygen is necessary for life or something). Ricky laughed, still a little breathless. “Surprising. I didn’t expect you to actually do it. Just when I think I know you, you throw a curveball.”    
  
“Somebody’s gotta keep you on your toes.” This time it was Thomas’s turn to grin. “Man, if anybody saw that, I could lose my inheritance.”   
  
Ricky rolled his eyes. “Doubtful. Your mother and the head maid seem awfully friendly, and not to mention your uncle, so it’s not like you’d be the black sheep of the family. Plus, y’all own all this land. For someone  _ not  _ under your family’s influence to get all the way out here would be quite the walk. Don’t be such a worry wart.”   
  
Thomas pressed his forehead against the shorter boy’s. “One of us should be.”   
  
Ricky lightly pushed back in reassurance. “Money makes the world go ‘round and, luckily, y’all seem to have an abundance.”   
  
Thomas smiled softly, listening to the soft breeze picking up in the leaves, the warm hands on his ribs a comforting presence. A much-needed shield against his inner turmoil. “Hey, I love you, you know?”   
  
“Yeah, I know. You wouldn’t put up with me otherwise.” Ricky allowed himself to drink in Thomas. Best friend for life and, as of late, something else. Something new. “Love you, too, you sap.”   
  
“Oh?” Thomas pulled back, a challenge in his eyes. “I’m a sap, am I? Would a sap do… this?”   
  
Thomas dropped down, wrapped his arms around Ricky’s legs, and hoisted him over his shoulder.    
  
Ricky yelped. “Thomas Antonio Aloysius Grant! Put me down this instant!”   
  
Thomas spun around, enjoying every little shriek and giggle Ricky let slip. “You didn’t say the magic word,” he teased.   
  
“I can and will kick your ass to kingdom come?”   
  
Thomas chuckled, “Close enough.”   
  
He gently deposited Ricky on the grass in the shade and dropped down beside him. Ricky ran a hand through his curly brown hair, sweat glistening off tan skin. An angel on earth.    
  
“You’re staring again,” Ricky muttered, a light blush dusting his cheeks.   
  
“And why wouldn’t I stare at the very definition of angelic?” Thomas gave a lopsided grin.   
  
“What about you, Mr. Dark-Hair-Darker-Eyes-Six-Foot-Adonis?” Ricky raised an eyebrow.   
  
Thomas shrugged. “I’m not impressed.”   
  
“Neither am I,” Ricky hummed.    
  
Thomas gasped. “You cheeky bastard!”   
  
“No, really!” Ricky laughed. “What’s to love about a kind guy with an open mind, brains, and a body to boot? The South is full of men like that! I could take it or leave it.”   
  
Thomas poked Ricky’s side. “Says the one who was all over me a minute ago.”   
  
“You make a pretty picture for someone with no heat tolerance who decided to wear dress clothes to bury a squirrel.”   
  
“Well, you know me,” Thomas placed a quick kiss on Ricky’s lips before lowering himself to lie beside him.   
  
Ricky’s lips twitched. “I do.”   
  
Ricky shuffled over, lying his head over Thomas’s heart, practically melting into the other body as Thomas wrapped a strong arm around his waist. The silence that fell between them was not awkward or stuffy, but comfortable and warm. Ricky playing with the grass at his fingertips and Thomas watching the light dance in the leaves. And if they ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms, who’s to say?

**Author's Note:**

> It is legit 5am but i wanted to post this because i really like how it turned out


End file.
